Kyuubi's Eye
by firefox26
Summary: At the age of six, Naruto was attacked by a group of villagers. They left him hurt and bleeding on the street, a new brand on his shoulder. When a woman was about to leave, Naruto began to change. His eyes became the same of a fox's, and his power red. With his newfound power, Naruto took revenge on the woman. When he was done, he returned to normal. But his left eye never changed.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Introducing: Kyuubi's Eye! *clapping in background* Thank you! Thank you! Please, you honor me! Alright, all joking aside, this is my newest story I promised a few months back. I'll give you all the details at the end, cuz I WANT YOU TO READ! And not everyone reads the authors notes so yeah...**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. Not Masahi Kishimoto here. (He owns it, right?)**

The small blond pressed himself up against the wall, one hand holding onto his abdomen. His fingers were coated in blood, the red liquid slowly dripping to the ground.

"You're done for, Demon. Why do you protest?" The leader of a small group of villagers asked, motioning his lackeys to surround the small boy.

"W-What did I do to you?" The blonde murmured in pain, keeping himself pressed to the wall.

"You killed my wife!" A man shouted.

"You took my children!" Screamed another.

"-destroyed my house!"

"-killed my brother"

"-my husband!"

The insults ran on and on, until, finally, they had told him all that 'he' had done.

"I did none of that!" The blonde screamed desperately.

"Don't deny it, Monster!" The leader shouted on dismay.

"I'm-I'm sorry," the blonde murmured, dropping to the ground, succumbing to the pain.

"You should be!"

The villagers came closer to the boy, bringing out sharp objects like knives, kunai, and the occasional pitch-fork.

They began with small cuts, taking turns to harm the boy in some way. They would make the demon suffer, a scratch for each person he killed.

He would eventually have no more skin to destroy.

After making thousands of cuts, a man the boy hadn't noticed earlier, came out. He appeared to be carrying a bucket of something along with a giant torch. The man had rotten teeth, and was missing a few limbs.

He dropped the bucket of water, some spilling and dropping onto the ground with a hiss.

The boy flinched away. It was obvious that the water was boiling. And he knew what they planned to do with it as well.

But, apparently, the water came later. The man held his hand out, and a small stout woman handed him a long stick, a piece of shapeless metal on the end. The man accepted the stick with little grace and stuck the metal part into his torch until it was glowing a soft red.

"Now, demon," the man murmured, using another stick to bring shape to his piece of metal. "This will prove what you are. This mark will never fade."

The metal was now in the shape of a rough fox head. He walked forward. "Head up, boy," he commanded. When the blonde didn't move, the man yanked roughly on his hair, jerking his head up. "Head up, boy!"

The man cut through the blonde's shirt, exposing his back. Then, he brought down the fox-head shaped metal and pressed it harshly against the boy's shoulder blade.

His head thrust back, a scream finding it's way through his lips and didn't stop. The pain was unbearable; the metal was burning hot and slowly burning it's was through his skin. The boy would have been worried that it was going to go to the bone, but he didn't have enough mind to think of anything but the pain at the moment.

Suddenly the pain stopped and the metal was removed. "Bring me the ice," the man commanded.

The same woman who had given him the stick earlier came up holding a pack of ice.

"Boy. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but I want that mark to remain forever." He then took the offered ice pack and pressed it roughly to the blond's back.

The numbing ice felt good on his skin, bringing the burning down. Slowly, the boy took the ice off his skin.

His shoulder was a bright red, slightly swelling, but the ice had stopped most of it. There was a fox head in the middle of his right shoulder blade, and the kanji for nine just underneath it and to the right.

The boy touched it, and flinched in pain. Although the burning had stopped for now, it still hurt like hell.

Then, suddenly and without warning, the man who had just branded him came up with his boiling water and dumped it on the boy, making him scream, louder this time.

"We did the fox first because the ice would minimize the water damage on your shoulder." The man laughed a horrid laugh.

"I'm done here," the man suddenly proclaimed. He turned on his heel and left.

The rest of the mob looked at each other, before slowly descending on the demon. They would destroy him. Leave him with only his organs and main body.

The first descended in, their weapons digging in much deeper than before, carving into the bones.

The boy was screaming, and couldn't stop.

Suddenly, he began to glow red. Red bubbles were pouring out of him, burning the villagers that were near, or dared to touch it. His back arched, and his eyes turned red with black slits in the middle.

"Get… away from… me…" he growled, lurching forwards on his feet. "Stop… hurting… me…"

The villagers looked on in shock and confusion. Finally someone broke.

"I don't know about you," a woman stuttered, falling back. "But I'm leaving."

She scrambled back, feet pushing against the ground and her fingernails pulling her back. Finally, she managed to fall onto her feet and run away.

"Oh, you may leave," the boy growled, staring at the woman. "But first I'll do to you what you did to me."

The woman screamed, falling back onto her butt as the demonic boy appeared in front of her face. "Please… don't hurt me… I didn't mean too much harm," she stuttered, tears appearing in the edges of her eyes as she begged. "I've got a family, a little boy to take care of—"

"I am a little boy," the child interrupted. "Would you do this to your son?"

The woman didn't reply, she just stared up, eyes still wet with tears that were slowly making their way down her dirty cheeks.

The boy brought up his hand, his nails long and curved like a fox's. With four quick downward slashes, the woman lay in the dirt, blood covering her white shirt and dripping down onto the earth beneath her.

"That's for the whole in my stomach," the boy explained, pointing to the wound in the middle of his stomach that had been there since the beginning of the night—the first wound the villagers had given him that night. "This is for all my scratches."

The woman's screams were loud, louder than the child's had been when he was on the receiving end. She was shivering, no longer crying tears of water and salt, but of iron and blood.

"Stop, stop, please…" the woman whimpered, knowing by now that her fellow villagers wouldn't be coming to help, as they were standing on the sidelines, staring at the demonic boy in shock.

The demonic boy stared at the woman, no remorse or guilt in his eyes. "If you can't endure all that I could," he rumbled, "then die."

The boys clawed hand came up one last time and rushed down to connect with the horrified womans throat.

"Naruto. Stop," a deep voice suddenly commanded.

The boy, Naruto, froze. "Kashi-nii? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, slight fear evident in his voice.

"I was alerted to come and rescue you," 'Kashi-nee' explained. "Though you seem to have the situation under control. Mostly."

The red 'bubbles' disappeared and his eyes turned back to normal, though, for some odd reason, his left eye remained blood red with the black slit through the middle. Naruto slumped to the ground, worn out and tired from the beatings he had received earlier. He barely heard Kakashi's orders to his squad. "Arrest the villagers. Take the woman to the hospital. I'll deal with Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked up as a shadow loomed over him. Kakashi stood, his one showing eye filled with concern and disappointment. Kakashi bent down, picking up the bleeding and now passed out Naruto, being careful not to move the hole in his stomach too much.

"I'll take you to the Hokage, Naruto."

~Six years later~

Today, Naruto would be graduating from the academy. Currently, he was the top of his class, easily surpassing the rest of his classmates. After that dreaded night six years ago, Kakashi had adopted Naruto as his official little brother, as Kakashi was still too young to adopt him as his son. He had pounded hours of training on the boy, preparing him for the real world. The blonde was already at chunin level, and might even, with some difficulty, be able to surpass the newer jounin.

Naruto's appearance had also changed over the past six years.

He was still the shortest male in the class, but taller than some of the girls. His blond hair was a bit longer and had some orange and red highlights, from the Kyuubi's chakra. He was clearly muscled, but not overly much so that he looked like a lifter. Lean, elegant even. He was covered in scars, and fire-shaped burns, from the night six years ago. He wore a black sleeveless tight shirt, and on the back there was a hole that allowed you to see the fox's head that had been branded into him all those years ago. Attached to the top of his shirt, was a loose hood that was currently resting on his back. A dark red mask, something he had inherited from his older brother, covered the lower half of his face down to his collarbone. He wore dark red ANBU pants with big pockets that held sealing scrolls. His feet were dressed in simple black combat boots and his hands in fingerless black gloves.

The biggest change, however, was his left eye. His eye stayed red after that night and now Naruto had covered it just like Kakashi covered his own eye, however, because he had not graduated, he settled for a piece of white cloth.

"Kashi-nii, I'm heading out," Naruto called up to his older brother, who was probably sleeping.

With a quiet grace, Naruto headed out onto the streets of Konoha, ignoring the glares of the villagers who still didn't know what he was capable of. The walk wasn't too long, and soon the blonde found himself in front of the academy gates.

Heading inside and going towards classroom 103, Naruto ran into Sasuke, his closest rival/friend. The raven was exceptionally skilled, but, with his head filled with revenge, he had limited his potential to learn and do new techniques and fighting styles.

"Sasuke." Naruto nodded his head to the raven in acknowledgement, walking beside the other boy. Sasuke cast a sidelong look at the other, before continuing on in silence, his morning greeting already done.

"Y'know, I'll beat you again this year, Sasuke," Naruto said in a lazy but confident tone.

Sasuke bristled, obviously annoyed, but didn't make a comment.

"They'll eventually realize that clan name isn't everything when it comes to good ninja." The blonde was quite obviously provoking the raven, and he was planning to continue, but they reached the class door.

The one place they need to stick together and work together. The one reason they always enter the class together.

Fangirls.

Sharing quick looks of dread, Sasuke slid the door open and rushed to his window seat, but was beaten there by Naruto. "My turn with the window," Naruto murmured.

Sasuke grabbed the bag that they had filled with rocks and placed it in the last seat, making sure that no one could sit directly next to the two boys.

"Sasuke-kuuuuun~" Purred a pink haired girl, as she tugged at the heavy bag.

"Bitch! Sasuke-sama is mine!" Yelled a brunet girl.

"Who did you call 'Sasuke-sama' and 'yours'?!" Screamed the pinky.

The two girls clashed forheads, clearly angry at one another and close to throwing punches. As all of this was going on, a blonde girl slipped onto Naruto's desk, putting her purple clad butt right onto his book that he had been given by Kakashi.

"Naruto-sama," she leaned in, trying to give the said boy a clear view of her non-existent chest.

Now, normally, Naruto would just ignore the girls, waiting for them to go away. But this one had dared to sit on of his books.

"And you may be…" Naruto questioned, attempting to keep his anger in check.

"Ino, but you may just call me 'baby'." She whispered into his ear.

"Now, now, Ino-chan, I would appreciate it it you got off my book," Naruto growled, trying his best to not throw the girl across the room.

"Eh?!" She looked down in surprise, only just noticing the book she had occupied. "Gomen, Naruto-sama," she said as she got up meekly.

"Arigato." Naruto picked up the book and continued to read, ignoring the world around him, even Sasuke, who was currently begging for help as on of the girls was attempting to give him a lap dance while trying to remove the bag of rocks off the next chair at the same time.

"Shut up and sit down!" Someone suddenly thundered.

The children immediately did as instructed, rushing off to find a seat.

"Now, as you all know," the sensei began, "Today we'll have the genin exam and tomorrow, if you pass, you'll be put into teams according to your strengths and weaknesses."

"Iruka-sensei!" One of the children called, putting their hand up.

"Yes, Chotoro?"

"What if we don't like the people we're teamed with?" She questioned, fear quite evident in her voice.

"You're going to learn how to like them," Iruka said with a small exasperated sigh.

Chotoro was about to say something else when another man walked in. "Iruka, we're ready for the exams."

"Wonderful, Mizuki," Iruka exclaimed, addressing the new sensei in the class.

"Now, you'll be called up one by one and will do your test on the other side of this door. Please be patient," Iruka explained quickly, before disappearing behind the door with Mizuki and the first student.

The day dragged on, some students came out with headbands of different colors, and some came out with nothing but sad faces.

Finally, Sasuke was called, the person before him coming out with lazy sigh, but he still had the headband. The boy had pineapple hair, and his headband around his upper arm. If Naruto could remember correctly, his same was Nara Shikamaru.

"Uchiha Sasuke, please hurry," Sasuke sighed, casting one more glance at Naruto before tossing a book down in front of him. "Thanks for the loan," he murmured softly, before heading down the steps and into the room, all the while ignoring the fangirlish high-pitched squeals of encouragement.

Sasuke entered the room, an aura of confidence surrounding him.

He came out nearly an hour later, but looking quite proud of himself. A blue hatatake was tied around his forehead, and his strut was full of happiness. As much as the raven tried to hide it, he was obviously quiet proud of himself.

"Naruto, you're next," he called, not even looking up at the blonde. "I know you're going to pass, so don't expect me to wish you luck."

"Wasn't ever expecting it," Naruto replied, passing Sasuke with a woosh.

Naruto walked down the aisle, maintaining his elegance, but daring anyone to say something to him. His dark demeanor scared off his fans, and they trailed after him silently, watching their king enter the door. (A/N THIS IS NOT A HAREM!)

The door swung closed with a shut, Naruto just barely inside. First test passed; entering the room. The room was pretty standard, a hard wooden floor, and white walls. There were several big windows behind the judges, who consisted of a few of the teachers and the Hokage.

"Mizuki-sensei, Iruki-sensei," Naruto greeted kindly, bowing slightly in their direction. "Hokage-sama." Naruto bowed again. "Sensei's." Naruto nodded over to the others, as he didn't know them.

"Now, Uzamaki-kun, we're going to start with the basics and slowly move our way upwards," the Hokage explained, his voice kind.

Naruto nodded.

"So, I'll ask you. Could you do a clone jutsu?" The Hokage requested, picking up his pen.

"Well, I have a quick question," Naruto confessed, scratching the back of his head.

"Go on," the Hokage encouraged.

"Well, you see, my chakra reserves are simply too big to be able to do the normal clone jutsu. I request that I be able to do the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto explained, a small blush gracing his cheeks, but hidden my his mask.

"You can do the Shadow Clone?! Of course you can do that one. It's still a clone jutsu." The Hokage exclaimed, surprised.

Naruto nodded, and brought his hands together in the tiger seal (A/N It's the tiger seal, right?) He focused a bit of chakra towards his connected hands, being careful to not go overboard with it.

Suddenly, there was several pops and five more Naruto's joined the first one. One was sitting on the floor, head tilted back, and reading a book. Another was standing beside Naruto, and copying everything he was doing. The third was sleeping on the floor, small snores coming from his mouth. The last two were standing next to one another and playing some sort of hand game.

"Well done, Naruto!" Iruka congratulated, as he and the other judges scribbled on their papers.

"Next, Naruto-kun, could you do a substitution jutsu with something in the room?" The Hokage questioned.

"Hai," Naruto responded, searching the room for something he could switch places with. Finally, his gaze settled on someone, and with a grin, he switched places with Mizuki.

Mizuki fell on the floor, shock evident on his face. Naruto was sitting in his judges chair, and looking over the grades that Mizuki gave him, and looking at the grades the people around Mizuki gave him.

"Ne, Mizuki-sensei, are you trying to fail me?" Naruto questioned, his face blank. "The others gave me good grades and said 'Pass' but all of yours says 'Fail'. Do you hold something against me, Mizuki-sensei?"

Mizuki was sweating, the beads falling onto his chunin vest and soaking through the material. Then, without replying to Naruto, he switched places with the small boy, ignoring the looks of suspicion the others were now giving him.

Naruto stared at the man for a while before turning away with a small sigh. "And what should I do now, Hokage-sama?"

"Ah, yes, just this last one. Please do a henge."

Naruto nodded and brought his hands up. Flashing through the seals, Naruto henged into the Fourth Hokage. The similarities between the two blondes was striking, it barely looked like Naruto had changed, except he grew and his attire changed.

"W-Well done, Naruto," the Hokage stammered. "You pass. Collect your headband from over there." The old Hokage pointed to a table that had a array of headbands, all dark blue.

"To change the color, you focus a little bit of chakra into the back of the headband before you put it on," Iruka explained, coming up behind Naruto who was heading to the table.

"Alright."

Naruto picked up one of the headbands. He placed his hand on the back of the headband and paused. After a bit of thought, he changed the color to black. When he moved the cloth, it shimmered a dark red. Then, Naruto turned his back to everyone, and removed the white cloth that covered his eye. With quick movements, he replaced it with his headband, and turned back to the judges.

"Arigato, sensei's," he murmured with a bow. He turned on his heal and left the room.

**A/N So how'd you enjoy it? Captivated yet? No, I thought not... BUT REVIEW ANYWAY! PLEASE REVIEW! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE REVIEWSSS!... favorites and follows are also very much appreciated. Ah, my mom was just talking about how I don't use my pinky finger when I type... Self-conscious much? ANYWAY! I was gone for so long because I went to camp for five weeks, then I moved continents. Stressful... Anyway, my computer was lost and my iPad stolen, so I have a lack of a way to write. Currently using my mom's laptop until I get enough money to buy a new one. Updates will still happen, though. But they might be late every once in a while, and knowing me, make that 'while' a lot. Thanks for reading and spending precious time reviewing (I hope!) **

**~firefox26 over and out**


	2. Chapter 2

**Enjoy! Meet'cha at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

Naruto blinked, the light filtering through the windows. The sun was up high, and shining brightly. With a groan, Naruto rolled over and looked at his clock.

9:01.

"Crap!" Naruto shouted, falling out of his bed, but quickly scrambling to his feet and getting dressed. "I was supposed to be there at nine!"

"Mornin' Ototou," Kakashi grumbled, walking into the room and rubbing his eyes. "What's with all the noise?"

"I was supposed to be there at nine! I need to get to the academy! For the groups!" Naruto shouted, running out of the room.

"You have nothing to worry about. You're my little brother, no need to run. In fact, it's good you're late. We've got a reputation to uphold." Kakashi drawled, walking lazily behind the blonde.

The said blonde paused. "Yeah, I guess you're right… But I'm still hungry." He continued down the stairs.

~An Hour Later~

Naruto walked down the street, his nose in a book and a kunai twirling on his finger. Soon, he was just outside of his classroom window. With ease, Naruto took his kunai and directed a little chakra towards it.

He put his book away, stuffing it in one of his pockets. Then, he took his chakra enhanced kunai and cut a hole in the window.

"Sorry I'm late!" Naruto called, jumping in through the hole he just made.

"Naruto!" Iruka called, shock obvious on his face. "Why are you so late?"

"Well, you see—" Naruto began.

"Don't take after your brother, for God's sake! I don't need a excuse!" Iruka shouted, using his big head jutsu.

"Gomen," Naruto chuckled, scratching his head.

Iruka sighed, looking at the sorry state of the boy, half through the window, only a corner of his face showing and the faintest signs of a smile underneath his mask. "Just take a seat."

"Arigato, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted, before climbing the rest of the way through the window and running to the empty seat next to Sasuke.

"Bastard," Sasuke whispered after Naruto got settled and Iruka continued his 'congratulations' lecture. "Do you know how much pain I had to go through this morning?"

"Sorry, Sasuke. Wasn't paying attention to the time," Naruto replied, getting out his book and beginning to read.

Iruka continued to talk at the front of the room, oblivious to his students who were doing everything but listening to the man. He was talking about how they are entering the 'real world' now and every fight might be their last. He wouldn't be there to bandage a scratch, or kiss a bruise. They were to be trained by real ninja—ninja that have killed.

Still no one listened. They didn't need to. They were the generation of miracles, and most came from clans and weren't civilians, except for a few. They were used to being around people who have killed, and they were prepared to embrace their new life. And they were ready to begin.

"I will be announcing the teams now," Iruka informed them. That one sentence brought everyone back to life. It put the books away and quieted the anxious whispers.

"I will be telling you your teams now, and then you will be released for lunch. During lunch you are expected to be with your team and getting to know them. You need to come back to this room at 1:30 and then you will meet your sensei. They'll be keeping you. I don't expect to see any of you in this classroom after today."

There were quiet whispers, some talking about who they wanted their sensei to be and others talking about who they want their teammates to be.

"Hey, Sasuke, I wonder if we'll be on the same team," Naruto whispered quietly to his neighbor.

"Who know? But if we are, I'm going to thank the lord for not putting me with two girls," Sasuke replied just as quietly, not looking at the blonde.

"And luckily, I know how to get rid of them," Naruto replied, a small smile on his face as he leaned toward Sasuke.

"These are the teams!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke shot forwards in their chairs, excited to find out who they'll be stuck with for a major part of their lives.

"Team one consists of…" Both Naruto and Sasuke were disappointed to find that their names weren't called, the suspension only becoming thicker.

Around twenty minutes later Sasuke heard his name called.

"…Sasuke and Naruto," Iruka called.

"Yes!" The cry of a pink haired banshee could be heard.

"Uhmm… Sensei?" Naruto called to the front. "What team are we on?"

"Team seven," Iruka replied, a sweat drop forming on the back of his head.

"Oh, alright, thanks."

"Team eight consists of Hinata, Shino, and Kiba," Iruka continued. "Team nine is still in action from last year, so we'll be having no team nine. Team ten consists of Ino, Choji and Shikamaru." He paused, letting the children find their new teammates.

"Now, you are free to go. But, be back by 1:30," Iruka said waving a hand towards the door.

Sakura rushed up towards Sasuke and Naruto, who seemed content to stay where they were, rather than leave the classroom like everyone else.

"Sasuke-sama! Naruto-baka! Lets get lunch!" She exclaimed, slamming her hands onto their desk.

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at one another, as if having a silent conversation.

"Sure," Naruto finally agreed, standing up. "Where do you guys want to go?"

Both the raven and pinket shrugged. "I usually eat at home," Sakura admitted.

"I usually eat at the academy," Sasuke added.

"Well, then we're getting ramen!" Naruto exclaimed. "Follow me!"

The unlikely trio headed out the door, and out of the academy.

"To think," Sakura said, her voice quiet. "This will be the last time we'll walk out of this building as students."

"Well, not really, actually," Naruto replied, walking slightly behind the pink girl with his head tilted back. "There's a possibility that we'll be sent back."

Sakura glanced back at the blond, surprised. "Really?" She questioned. "But we've already passed the test!"

Naruto sighed. "I'm just telling you what my nii-san told me."

Sasuke looked over at the blond at his left. "Who is your brother anyway, Naruto?"

"My brother? Why, my brother is my brother. That's all you need to know for now." Naruto gave him a small grin.

Just as Sasuke was about to retaliate, Naruto pointed over to a small stand. "That's it! Ichiraku Ramen!" The blond ran ahead, abandoning the lazy and slow pace he had held before.

The raven and the pinkette sighed before following the blond at a slower pace.

Naruto sat on a stool near the end of the booth, several bowls piled up in front of him and another sitting in front of him full of noodles. Sasuke was settled beside him, ordering himself a bowl of the unhealthy noodles. Sakura was sitting beside him, placing Sasuke in the middle of his two teammates. She had refused to order any food as it was too 'fattening' for her tastes.

Nearly an hour later, the new team seven found themselves walking down the street towards the Academy at a leisurely pace. Both Sakura and Sasuke had found themselves utterly astounded after they saw Naruto eat 13 bowls of ramen. Crazy.

Soon, the trio was in front of the Academy, walking with their old classmates as they walked towards the classroom, hoping to not be late. Naruto was left behind, being slow just like his older brother.

Naruto had his book out and hood back. His steps were impossibly slow, but his combat boots didn't make a sound. A true lazy ninja.

A few minutes later, the students filtered into the classroom, Naruto still hanging behind, but he had put his book away—a start at the very least. Iruka was sitting at his desk, and Mizuki had supposedly called in absent last night. Why, they weren't told.

"Your senseis will be coming in now," Iruka called, motioning for the energetic genin to sit down.

Iruka walked over to the door and slid it open. Several people walked in. Naruto noticed that even though Kakashi told him that he would be given a genin team, he didn't seem to be with the crowd of jounin.

Iruka went down the line, introducing each jounin, and telling the students which teams they would be leading. "Kakashi-san will be leading team seven! Team seven please stand…" Irukas voice trailed off, noticing that the man was missing.

Naruto sighed, typical behavior of his older brother. Then something clicked. "Wait, Iruka-sensei," Naruto called, standing up. "Did you say that Kakashi-san would be leading team seven?!"

"Yes I did, Naruto," Iruka replied absentmindedly, looking out the windows and doors for the silver haired man.

"No," Naruto groaned, slamming his head onto his desk. "No, no, no, no…"

Sasauke shook his head at his friend's behavior, not even bothering to ask why Naruto was so annoyed that he would be taught by Hatake Kakashi-the genious and prodigy of his age.

Two hours later, everyone had left. Everyone but team seven.

The bored team didn't really know what to do. Sakura settled for doodling in a book, all drawings featuring a certain Uchiha. Sasuke was borrowing one of Naruto's books on genjutsu, as he was determined to learn more about his clan and their main choice of fighting. Naruto was sleeping, not making a sound.

After about two hours of sleeping, drawing, and reading, Naruto sleepily lifted his head off the desk, a mischievous smirk on his face.

He looked around to find that Sakura had moved to a table further down, and stretched herself out on it. Sasuke had also moved tables, and now he was near the back, and still reading Naruto's book.

"Hey, team," Naruto called lazily. "Sensei'll be here soon. Can I have my book, Sasuke?"

Sasuke sighed and marked his page with a small piece of paper, then tossed it to Naruto's waiting hands. "Sure."

Sakura watched the two boys on her team interact, surprised to find how peaceful the two seemed now that they were away from the prying eyes of their fangirls. 'I wouldn't mind if this moment lasted forever,' Sakura thought silently, a small smile graced on her lips. _'For now I'll forget my crush on Sasuke. I'll become strong. And when I'm worthy, I'll remember my crush. Maybe I'll still like him that way, maybe I won't. Who knows.'_

Though the girl knew that it wouldn't be as easy as that to drop her long-time crush, she would do her best to forget it and instead focus on what was most important. Whether it be training or a mission, or simply making dinner, Sakura planned to give it her all.

Naruto and Sasuke were whispering to one another, talking about Naruto's reaction to their sensei's name. Naruto didn't answer, and avoided the question by mentioning that their sensei was way too late. Sasuke said something that made Naruto smirk.

"Alright."

Naruto walked up to the white board that was at the front of the room, and picked up one of the erasers. Then, he grabbed a chair and stuck it in front of the door and stood on it. He opened the door a crack and stuck the eraser in, and made sure it wasn't going to fall out.

The blonde hopped down from the chair and backed up to admire his handiwork. Then, with a satisfied smile, Naruto put the chair back and walked back up to his spot.

"Sensei'll never fall for it," Sakura informed Naruto, staring at the eraser with uncertainty.

"I know the man," Naruto replied, smirking. "He's too lazy to notice something like that."

Sakura looked up at Naruto in surprise. "You know him?"

Sasuke also looked surprised, but he kept his thoughts to himself, preferring to watch and learn. Especially on such an _interesting _subject.

Naruto didn't get a chance to answer because at that very second, Kakashi walked in, a book in his hand.

The eraser fell.

Time slowed down.

The eraser hit Kakashi's hair with a small thump and Kakashi disappeared in a poof.

"Why?" Naruto grumbled to himself. "Why aren't I surprised, Kakashi?"

"Now, now, Ototou," the real Kakashi walked in, putting a book in his back pocket. "You know that it's rude to call your older bother by his name without honorifics."

Sakura stared at Naruto with wide eyes. Sasuke just sighed and placed his head on the table. _'I should've figured.' _He thought.

_'Brother? Naruto's brother is our sensei? Is that even allowed?'_ Sakura thought.

Sasuke looked at the pair. _'I doubt it is by blood. The two look pretty different... though I can't tell because of the stupid masks. Now that's something they definitely share.'_

Naruto glared at his older brother. He does love the man, but he could be a real pain in the ass sometimes, showing up to Naruto like that. And to avoid his prank! What a man…

Kakashi waved off Naruto's glare, and addressed everyone. "Meet me on the roof in five minutes."

With a wave and a eye smile, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Another clone.

"God damn that guy!" Naruto shouted, annoyed.

Sakura ignored Naruto's outburst. "Kakashi-sensei is your brother?" She exclaimed, picking up her things and heading towards the door.

"Yeah, what about it?" Naruto questioned with a sigh, him and Sasuke following the pink haired girl out of the room.

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"It would've made things awkward. I actually didn't plan on telling you guys, but Kakashi just had to go and ruin that plan," Naruto replied, a sweat drop forming on the back of his head.

The three walked in a cold silence to the top of the Academy, their shoes clicking on the hard floor. Sasuke had his hands in his pockets, and his head tilted back. Sakura was walking in between the two boys, watching her feet as she kicked a small pebble between them. Naruto was off to the side, reading his book that seemed to appear out of nowhere and lagging behind somewhat.

After a few minutes of this, the three reached the door that lead towards the roof. And their new lives. Sakura paused in front of the door, not opening it.

"What's taking you so long?" Sasuke growled.

"I'm just thinking," Sakura muttered in reply.

Sasuke groaned and butted in front of her, opening the door. The three stumbled outside, the sunlight invading their eyes after being stuck in a classroom for so long.

The roof patio was small, and a bench was near the end of it. Kakashi sat on the bench. Wordlessly, the three genin walked up in front of Kakashi and sat down, Naruto and Sasuke on the sides and Sakura in the middle.

"Alright kids!" Kakashi said cheerfully. "Why don't we introduce ourselves? Tell me your name, what you like, hobbies and dreams. Duckbutt hair first!"

Sasuke looked annoyed with the name and touched his hair. 'Does it really look like a duck-butt?' He thought.

"Sensei," Sakura said, just as Sasuke was about to launch into a life story. "Why don't you give us an example so we know what to say?"

Kakashi gave her an eye grin. "Sure, pinky!

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, I happen to have a absolutely _wonderful_ younger brother." He shot a thumbs up at Naruto, obviously being sarcastic. "I like things, my hobbies… I have lots. And my dreams are none of your business."

The three genin sweat dropped.

Then Naruto said, "What he means is he's my older brother, he likes porn and torturing me, his hobbies are reading porn and torturing me. His dream is to be part of the Icha Icha porn series."

As one, Sasuke and Sakura scooted away from their perverted sensei, immediately scared.

"Thank you, Naruto," Kakashi said, shooting a death glare that said 'You're so dead'. "Now you can go, duckbutt hair."

Sasuke growled. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like to train and learn new jutsus. My hobbie is training so I can _dispose_ of a certain someone. And my dream—no not dream, ambition—is to kill my older brother." Sasuke gained a death glint in his eyes. "And nothing will stop me."

Kakashi sighed, just what he had expected. "Pinky, you're next."

Sakura lit up, already knowing what she was going to say. "My name in Haruno Sakura. I like flower pressing, learning, and shopping." Both Naruto and Sasuke were surprised she didn't even glace at Sasuke or blush. "My hobbies are helping Ino-baka at her flower shop and reading books. My dream is to be able to get strong enough so a certain someone will finally recognize me, and so I can protect my family." This time, a small blush did form over her face.

'Well, she's better than I expected,' Kakashi thought with a sigh. "Naruto, you can go now."

"Alrighty!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin. "My name is Hatake Naruto. I like my brother," he paused,"sometimes. I also like training, learning new things, reading and ramen. My hobbies are pranking Kakashi-nii, reading, and learning new jutsus. My dream is to make the villagers realize I am not what I contain."

Kakashi's face darkened. He knew about Naruto's dream already-and wanted him to achieve it-but he didn't know if it was possible.

"Naruto," Sakura called, curiosity on her face. "What do you mean by 'not what you contain'?"

"I'll tell you later," Naruto replied, his face darkening and matching his brother.

Clapping his hands, Kakashi gained the attention of his team. "Tomorrow meet at training ground 7 at 5am for the true genin test. Don't eat breakfast, unless you want to throw up, of course. And remember, this test has a 66% fail rate. If you fail, you go back to the Academy for a year."

"Wait! Sensei! We already the exam!" Sakura informed him.

"That wasn't the real test," Kakashi replied with a eye smile. "That was to bring your numbers down." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Well, I'm out!" Naruto called. "See you tomorrow!" he disappeared in flames.

Sasuke looked back at Sakura before waving and jumping down from the roof, going to who-knows-where.

"I feel like I'm the only one here who knows how to use the stairs," Sakura muttered to herself before heading down to the front door.

**A/N I promise I'm done with the cheesy stuff now, people! Well... mostly, anyway. I plan on doing the bell test next chapter, then WALAA~! Naruto'll be meeting Kyuubi and learning how to use his eye soon. **

**By the way, do you guys have any suggestions as to what the eye can do? Other than combine all the clans bloodlines, of course. I already have some ideas, and I'm not going to spoil it, but I still want to know if you have and suggestions. If I like them then I might just have to use them! (I'd try to give you credit as well, but I might forget...) And I don't think I mentioned it last chapter, but I respond to comments via PM so that you can hear what I have to say about your feedback :D. Good or bad... It's usually good xD**

**~firefox26**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I'll meet'cha at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

A swirl of fire appeared in the middle of the Hatake house, right next to the swirl was a small pile of leaves.

Naruto came out of the swirl of fire, his book in hand. Kakashi was sitting on a stool by the counter, mask off. He has his own book out and a bowl of ramen sitting in front of him. Naruto, noticing the bowl, walked past his older brother and to a cupboard and grabbed his own bowl. On the stove was a pot of boiling water which he poured into his bowl to cook the noodles.

"Y'know, I will get back at you for your little smartass comment earlier," Kakashi commented, not looking up from his book or food.

Naruto shrugged, sitting next to him. "I know."

The two ate in a comfortable silence, but not before long, Naruto spoke again.

"Why'd you tell them 5am?"

"You and I both know that I'll be there around 11," Kakashi began. "And I want to see if they'll learn that if I was late today, I'll be late tomorrow."

"Hmm, well, that makes sense. And as long as you feel obligated to give me answers, what will the test be tomorrow?"

"That… you've already done this test, so you have no need to worry," Kakashi said, smiling at his older brother with noodles hanging out of his mouth.

Naruto groaned and muttered "It's a wonder that I have any manners." Then he asked, "Is it one I passed immediately or one that took me a few tries?"

"Well, you tell me," Kakashi slurped up more noodles. "Do you think that your little teammates would be able to survive one of the tests that took you more than one try?"

The blonde shrugged. "I donno."

"Think on it. Training will begin in half an hour." Kakashi got up and cleared his bowl away. "And today it'll be hard. In repayment for what you did." Naruto could hear the smirk in his voice.

Kakashi disappeared up the stairs, Icha Icha in his hand and a blush on his face.

"Oi! Nii-san! Go easy on me!" Naruto yelled up to his retreating brother, his own book in front of him.

~Half an hour later~

Kakashi came down the steps, his footsteps quiet. His book was in his back pocket; right now he will be pranking his otouto.

The blonde was stretched out on the couch that was in the living room, a book called _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi_. Written by the toad sage Jiraiya, the book had captivated Naruto the moment he saw it. In addition to that, the main character possesses the same name as Naruto, making him feel like he could really connect to the book.

Kakashi sneaked up behind his little brother, a cloth and shaving cream in one hand and a bucket of ice water in the other. Carefully, as to not make any noise, Kakshi placed the water down right next to him and popped open the can of shaving cream. With a wicked smile on his face, Kakashi placed the shaving cream to the side and took the cloth. Soaking it in the cold water, Kakashi placed that to the side as well. Then, using chakra strings, he dangled the remaining water above his sleeping brother. Then, he took the shaving cream and began to draw with it on his brother. Making a big 'X' on his manhood, and drawing a mustache above his upper lip.

Kakashi took the wet cloth and laid it on Naruto's stomach, waking the boy up with the cold material. Said boy jumped when the cloth touched his skin, and knocked the water bucket above him, causing it to fall and drench him in the ice-cold water.

"Aniki!" Naruto cried, shocked. "What was that for?!"

Kakashi gave him a one eye grin and didn't answer the question. "Time for training."

"Hai, hai," Naruto muttered, using a quick heat jutsu to dry himself, his book, and the couch off.

The brothers headed outside, locking the front door behind them. The two lazily walked through the streets, both ignoring the glares people were throwing at Naruto. After a few minutes, they had exited the main part of the city and were nearing the walls. Nodding to the gate guards, Kakashi lead his little brother to a clearing about a minute and a half away from the village and deep into the forest.

"Starting from now on, you and I will be training here when we are not on missions or with the team," Kakashi informed Naruto.

"If the team passes," Naruto added for him.

"Well—yes."

"Oh, that brings up a quick question. Is it possible that only some people on the team will pass?"

"Yeah, it is. But very unlikely," Kakashi replied. "If one person out of three doesn't impress me, I'll kick them off, or if they're not strong enough. Also, if they don't understand the meaning of the test tomorrow. I'll say no more about the test."

Naruto nodded. Then asked: "So what are we working on today?"

'Today we'll be working on elemental jutsu, cause we have only skimmed over the basics," Kakashi replied.

"Air, earth, fire, water, and lightning, right?"

"Yeah, and now we're going to find out what your affinities are." Kakashi handed his younger brother a piece of paper. "Channel chakra into this. It is chakra paper."

Naruto took the offered paper and did as told. The paper sliced in half. One side began to burn, while the other crackled with lightning.

"Air, fire, and lightning," Kakashi murmured to himself. "You probably got the fire from Karuma, the lightning from me, after I signed the adoptive papers, and wind from your father."

"My father?" Naruto questioned. "Who are my parents?"

Kakashi froze, realizing his slip-up. "I'll tell you when you're older. He was a great man."

"Kakashi…" Naruto's voice was dark.

"Naruto—Ototou—I'm doing this as part of my job as your older brother. I'll tell you when you're older." Kakashi's voice had a final ring to it.

Naruto looked at the ground. "Hai, Aniki."

Kakashi looked down at his little brother and rubbed his head. "Let's get down to work. Today I'll be showing you…"

The brothers were in the clearing until sundown, when they were finally forced to leave, their stomachs growling loudly.

"Ichiraku's?" Kakashi questioned.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto said, jumping up.

Kakashi smiled to himself. Naruto, only twelve, always acted older than he really was. His childhood had been robbed from him the moment he got the Kyuubi brand all those moons ago. But, on nights like these, when Naruto was truly happy, he still acted like a kid. The kid he really was.

The two walked down the street, the villagers all in their homes or restaurants for dinner. When they arrived at Ichiraku's, they found Sasuke sitting inside.

"Whatcha doing here, Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, amusement shining in his eyes.

"I—Well… You see—Oh shut up!" Sasuke shouted, noticing Naruto laughing hard, clutching his stomach. "I live alone!" Sasuke grumbled in defiance. "Sometimes I don't want to cook!"

Naruto waved it off. "I understand, I understand! Ichiraku ramen is the best!"

Kakashi had already taken a seat, his book in front of him. Naruto sat beside him and ordered the 'usual' for himself. Kakashi had replied "What I always get," without looking up from his book.

Naruto looked over to Sasuke. "So you ready for tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Sasuke grumbled, glancing over to their sensei. "As ready as I'll ever be." He paused. "You're his brother. What's he planning?"

"I honestly don't know," Naruto replied. "I've been pestering him all afternoon, but he just won't tell me."

Sasuke nodded slowly. "Just remember to sleep well. We'll need you, seeing as we have Sakura and everything."

"Yeah. But, she seemed to have a change in attitude earlier. What do you think that was about?"

"I donno. It was weird, though. She might actually become strong in the future."

Naruto nodded slowly. "You and I are both brute strength. She could be our stratigest and medic-nin. Think about how useful that could be."

Sasuke nodded. "You're right. Talk to sensei later."

"I say we should approach him together, tomorrow, after we've passed the test. We're a team now. We need to approach things as such."

"Alright," Sasuke agreed, easily. "Tomorrow."

The boys shook on it, just as Naruto and Kakashi's food came.

~The Next Day~

Naruto woke up with a yawn, stretching his arms out above his head. With tired eyes he glanced over to his clock. 9:03. 'They've waited a while…' Naruto thought, not really caring.

Naruto got up slowly, slipping his feet into his slippers that rested on the ground beside his bed. With slow movements, he shuffled to the bathroom and straight to the toilet.

After taking care of his business, he got dressed and headed downstairs. He found Kakashi sitting at the table, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

"Mornin' aniki," Naruto grumbled, heading over to the stove and grabbing a pot of hot water.

"Morning otouto," Kakashi replied.

With sluggish movements, Naruto poured himself a cup of tea and grabbed a pear.

"When are ya going to head out?" Naruto questioned, relaxing on the couch with his book in his hand.

"An hour or two, I guess."

Naruto nodded. "I might head out in an hour. Don't really want to be grouped with you just yet."

Kakashi chuckled softly into his cup. "Alright. Just don't tell them when I'll be there."

"Wasn't planning on it." The two brothers shared freakishly similar eye smiles.

~DoN't MinD Me I'M jUsT a LINe BReAk~

Naruto walked as slowly as possible, trying to delay the verbal bashing he is going to be getting from his teammates. He knew that they won't be very happy, so Naruto brought a small bag of food with him, planning to give it to his probably-starving teammates.

After a few minutes, Naruto reached a small clearing on the edge of town. On a wooded board was the number '7' written on it and nailed to a tree. On the opposite edge of the clearing, Naruto spotted his teammates asleep against a tree.

Smiling softly to himself, the jinjurriki stalked up to his teammates and threw the bag of food onto Sasukes lap.

"Rise and shine, sleepy heads," Naurto giggled.

Sasuke looked up at his blond teammate. "Mornin' the test—The test! And why are you so goddamn late!?" Sasuke shouted, standing up as fast as he can, not noticing the bag of food that fell of his lap.

"Well, you see, I was on my way here when I passed by an old woman carrying a bunch of bags. Being the kind gentleman I am, I offered her some help. Then, she asked me to carry it all the way to her house on the other side of the village. As you know, old people are quite slow walkers, so it to—" Sakura cut him off.

"Stop making excuses!" She shouted. "And where is Kakashi-sensei?"

"Aniki? He was helpin—" Sasuke was the one to cut him off this time.

"Forget it," the raven said with a sigh.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Naruto exclaimed, pointing at the fallen food. "I figured you might be hungry, so I brought some food!"

Sakura looked doubted at the bag. "Well, sensei said—"

"Nah, don't worry about what he said," Naruto interrupted, eye-smiling.

Sakura was about to argue again, but as she turned around to point at the offending bag, she saw Sasuke digging into its contents.

"Sasuke!" She exclaimed in alarm.

"Hn?" Sasuke grunted.

"We shouldn't—" Sasuke threw a piece of bread up at the loud girl.

"Shut up and eat. We'll need all the strength we can get for this test."

Sakura stared doubtfully down at the food in her hand. "A-Alright. But I still think it is stupid."

Naruto tilted his head slightly, confused. Sakura seemed to be different than she was in the Academy. In the Academy, she would always swan over Sasuke, and do whatever he said. But for her to drop the honorific of '-kun' and to call his idea stupid…

Sasuke was also noticing the changes in the pink haired girl. She seemed calmer, collected. Someday, she might even become a valuable team member.

Someday.

The trio of genin-hopefuls sat in a small triangle; slowly eating the food that Naruto had brought them about an hour before. They hadn't really talked about much, just relaxed and tried to get to know one another better, as Sakura hadn't really tried to get to know either of them, she just knew that they were both cute. And Naruto and Sasuke went to one another for protection against fan-girls, nothing else—except for good sparing partners.

Not too much later, Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hel—"

"You're late!" Sakura shouted, sticking her face in her senseis.

"Hai, hai. You see, I saw this old man—"

"We heard it from Naruto," Sasuke interjected.

"Ah! My otouto is becoming so much like his aniki!" Kakashi cheered, eye-smiling.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto grumbled, standing up from his seat beneath the tree. "Down to the meat. What's our test?"

"Oh, yeah, the test! Your job is to take these two bells from me," Kakashi said, holding up two small silver bells.

"How do we do that, Sensei?" Sakura questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"Come at me with the intent to kill." Kakashi's face turned serious. "Or else you will definitely fail."

"But Sensei! We could hurt you!" Sakura cried in astonishment.

Naruto was the one who answered. "It's doubtful you will even land a hit, Sakura." Naruto's face was just as serious as his brothers.

"Think of it as a mission," Kakashi supplied.

Sakura nodded.

"Begin."  
The three genin-hopefuls disappeared in a flash, instantly disappearing into the forest. The first mistake. They were separated; they would never complete the task alone.

Naruto was cowered beneath a bush, a clear view of the clearing in front of him. Kakashi is standing in the middle, his orange book out and in front of his face, and the bells attached to his waist. Naruto's eyes are on the mentioned bells, trying to figure out a plan to grab the bells from Kakashi. He could easily use his 'special eye', but he doesn't want to be relying on the power of his demon, and he wasn't even completely sure what he could do with the power anyway. Naruto continued to think, noting in the back of his mind that Sasuke was almost directly across from him, up in a tree, and Sakura to his left, behind a tree.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

It would be the simplest, if Sasuke were to rush out, to attack Kakashi. Then, seemingly just to prove to Sasuke that he was better, Naruto would rush out and begin battling as well. Sakura would then use a place switcher with Sasuke, to surprise Kakashi. Once that happens, Sasuke would come out from behind Kakashi and grab the bells.

Teamwork. That was the whole point of this test, Naruto realized.

So, with stealthy steps, Naruto headed over to Sakura to explain his plan. She probably wouldn't like it, but being the strategical genius she is, she would understand the logic behind the plan.

Sasuke might be harder to convince.

Naruto reached Sakura after a few minutes of belly crawling. Her back is pressed up against the back of a tree, and her head poking out from the side to keep a good look on Kakashi.

Standing up, Naruto poked her in the shoulder and quickly covered her mouth so her shout of surprise would remain quiet. After she calmed down and relaxed, Naruto removed his hand.

"I have a plan," he whispered. "But we'll also need Sasuke."

"Sasuke is over—"

"I know where Sasuke is," Naruto whispered harshly, not one for being taken as an idiot.

"Right. Sorry, sorry," Sakura hissed quietly. "Only trying to help here."

"Yeah, sorry," Naruto replied just as quiet, not really paying attention.

Sakura sighed. "Whatever." Then: "If we swim through that river over there," Sakura pointed to said river, "We could probably get over to Sasuke without being noticed.

Naruto paused. "Do you know any water jutsu?"

"No," Sakura replied softly. "I'm still a beginner; I don't have any older siblings that can teach me cool stuff like you."

Naruto allowed himself a small smile. "He didn't spoil me at all, I'm telling you. Hours a day of work, and a constant yelling in my ear. Having an older sibling can be a pain in the ass. And don't forget, the younger sibling is always the sibling that ends up doing the dishes."

Sakura giggled. "That's funny, but we should probably start heading towards the lake now."

Naruto nodded in agreement, and led Sakura towards the lake, being careful to be as quiet as possible.

Kakashi was still in the middle of the clearing with his book out. He can hear the rustling of leaves off to one side, and can feel the glare of Sasukes eyes on the other side. The older shinobi knows exactly what's going on, but he still has to take it slightly easy on the new genin. But, where is his brother?

The pink haired girl was definitely crawling to the lake, planning on getting to Sasuke, but he couldn't hear his brother, and couldn't see him either.

_'I've trained him too well.'_

After a few minutes of rustling through the bushes and Naruto telling Sakura to be quieter, the pair of genin reached the edge of the lake. This was the hard part. Between the bushes and the lake, there is about two meters of clear area—they have to make it to the lake without being seen. Further more, they have to make it into the lake without being heard. It's going to be hard.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto placed his hands on the ground, side by side. Then, channeling a bit of chakra into them, he murmured, "Chikyū no kurōku." **(A/N that literally translates—according to Google translate—to Cloak of Earth.)** Naruto's body was slowly covered in a thin layer of dirt, the stuff sticking onto his skin like a wet suit.

With stealthy steps, the now dirt Naruto crawled out from the line of trees and into the two meter wide clearing gap.

Kakashi immediately felt Naruto using a jutsu—that was something new to train him on, making his chakra presence invisible even while using a jutsu. But for now, it's fine. Kakashi let his eyes wander around the clearing, looking for his little brother. After a few seconds, Kakashi realized that he couldn't see him, or any kind of messed up jutsu that Kakashi was expecting his otouto to use. Then he realized: Naruto was using some sort of hiding jutsu.

'So where is he, then? If he's using a hiding jutsu, I woud be able to see him if he didn't have it on; as he's probably in the clearing.'

A small splash distracted Kakashi from his thoughts, drawing Kakashi's eyes over to the lake. A little bit of long pink hair was floating through the river. She had made it into the river.

"Oh, Sakura!" Kakashi whispered to himself. "I see you!" Kakashi stalked over to the river, his footsteps not making a sound of the soft dirt. Reaching the river, Kakashi stuck his hand in and shot his chakra out, outlining everything in the lake with his chakra. He was not surprised when his chakra not only outlined fish, and Sakura, but also Naruto._ 'I figured.'_

With a small grin, Kakashi pulled out Sakura with his chakra, but didn't even try for Naruto. The kid is especially good at evading chakra nets.

Sakura came out of the water with a splash, her pink hair sticking to the sides of her face.

"Go! Go you dumbass, go!" Sakura screamed at Naruto, who was already halfway out of the water to save his pink-haired teammate.

"Goddammit! If we're gonna be a team, it's best we work like one!" Naruto shouted back, already flashing through hand signs. "Now would be a great time to show off your fire jutsu, Sasuke!"

Said raven was watching over the chaotic scene from a new tree branch, his eyes showing the fact that he was only mildly interested in what was going on below. But, when Naruto called out his name, asking for help, Sasuke jumped into action.

With a big breath, Sasuke went through the appropriate hand signs and shouted out: "Hi hasu!" **(A/N Fire lotus, I believe…)**

Naruto, with a big breath of his own and different hand signs, called out: "Kaze uzu!" **(A/N I'll never know is Google Translate is right or not, but I think it means Wind Vortex)**

From Naruto's lips came a giant gust of wind, fueling the fire Sasuke had made, and directing it towards Kakashi. "Block that, nii-san," Naruto muttered to himself, grinning.

The fireball connected with a giant boom, and a lot of smoke and flame. When the spot cleared, Kakashi was nowhere in sight, and Sakura was curled up in a ball, having tried to defend herself from the flame.

Naruto's visible eye widened in horror, seeing his female teammate lying on the ground motionless from his and Sasuke's jutsu. With a yell, Naruto rushed towards the fallen girl, Sasuke just on his heels.

"Sakura! Sakura!" Naruto shouted. "Gomen, gomen, gomen!"

Sakura didn't respond, didn't move.

The two boys reached Sakura in a matter of seconds, neither sparing a thought about their sensei who was in the near-by trees. Unknowingly to both of them, Sakura was fine, as Kakashi had protected her from the flame—seeing as that was his job as her sensei.

"Sakura," Sasuke growled, shaking the girl's side. "Get up, ya banshee."

Sakura stirred.

"Huh?" She muttered, seeing her teammates faces right above hers. "Sasuke? Naruto?"

The two boys sighed identical sighs of relief, seeing as their teammate is okay.

"We're really sorry, Sakura," Naruto began. "In our haste to get you back, we forgot you were with Kakashi." He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Nah," Sakura said, waving it off. "It's alright. Kakashi protected me before he disappeared somewhere."

"Crap!" Sasuke shouted, suddenly buried up to his neck in the ground.

"Kakashi is underground, Sakura! Jump!"

"No duh!" Sakura and Sasuke shouted back at the same time.

The blonde and pinkette jumped, just as a hand appeared where Naruto's feet were only seconds before.

"Goddammit, aniki! Gimme a break!" Naruto shouted, flashing through another set of hand seals.

"Hikari furasshu!" **(A/N Light flash…)** A orb of light formed around Naruto's fist, crackling with lightning. With a lightning-fast move, Naruto flung the orb down to the ground, hoping to hit Kakashi.

Kakashi appeared from the forest, telling the genin that the Kakashi in the ground was just a clone.

Looking over to Sasuke, Naruto motioned over to Kakashi, then to the lake, then Sakura, and held up a scroll. Sasuke thought for a second, the shrugged. It was a deal. Naruto threw the scroll over to the raven and nodded.

Sasuke walked over to Sakura, planning to explain the new plan that the two boys had just agreed on, assuming that she didn't understand the signals Naruto was makings.

"Sakura, this is the plan…"

Naruto was just behind his brother on a branch, a clone was fighting Kakashi down below. There is no doubt in Naruto's mind that his brother knows that he is fighting a clone and not the real, but Naruto's clones can still be very strong, and needed to be taken care of. A distraction.

Down on the other side of the clearing, Sakura was reading over the scroll that Naruto had given Sasuke, her hands forming signs; practicing.

"Sakura!" The Naruto-clone shouted. "I don't have much time left! Do it now!"

Sakura nodded, her hands forming the signs, except this time she was actually channeling chakra to her hands. "Mizu keimusho!" **(A/N Water prison)** She shouted, slamming her hands into the water.

Nothing seemed to happen, but Sasuke, who was looking down into the water, grinned. "It worked, Sakura," he congratulated.

The Naruto-clone began to back up to the lake, moving slowly, but drawing Kakashi with him as the two continued to fight.

Suddenly, the real Naruto appeared behind Kakashi, and the clone glomped Kakashi, With a strong tug, clone-Naruto pulled Kakashi into the water and down into the water prison Sakura had managed to make. Kakashi looked up angrily at his three genin.

He could easily break out, Naruto knew that. But the three had managed to pull off something that many other genin teams wouldn't have been able to pull off. Kakashi has to pass them. He has no choice. And in addition to that, Naruto's clone is currently swimming up and out of the water, two silver things closed in in his grip.

They got the two bells.

The clone handed the two small noise-makers to the original and dispelled himself. With a sigh, said original tossed the two bells over to his teammates.

"Take 'em. We all played a part in this. Congratulations." Naruto's mask crinkled, showing them that he is smiling.

"No!" Sakura shouted in surprise. "You came up with our plan! You should pass!" She tossed her bell back to Naruto.

"Eh," Naruto grunted, staring down at the bell.

"Sakura," Sasuke called, blushing slightly. **(A/N THERE WILL BE NO SAKU/SAKU)** "Take mine. You're more brains than brawns, unlike me, and that could help this team a lot." His bell was now in Sakura's hand.

"Aw," Naruto giggled. "You two make a good pair. Sasuke, take my bell and forever be with Sakura." Naruto tossed his bell again.

Both genin blushed as Sasuke caught the bell. "Naruto… our agreement?" He was referring to the agreement the two had made a few years ago about protecting one another from the fangirls.

"Oh yeah… Keep the bell anyway." Naruto smiled.

"All right, you brats!" Kakashi yelled, floating up and out of the water. "You all pass. This test was made to make you realize that none of you," He looked pointedly at Naruto. "Can defeat me alone. You used teamwork and each of your personal strengths to defeat me at a third of my power. Thus, I conclude today. Meet here at 11am tomorrow."

Kakashi waved and eye-smiled. "Sayonara!"

Naruto gave his own eye-smile to his teammates. "Normally I would ask if you guys would want to go to Ichiraku's, but I'm super tired. See ya tomorrow." With that, the youngest member of the newly formed team Seven disappeared.

Sakura informed Sasuke that he mom wants her home by five, and thus had to also leave. With a wave, the pink-haired girl walked off.

Sasuke stayed in the clearing, staring at the bell in his hand. _'This team will be strong. Strong enough to help me defeat Itachi.'_

**A/N So how'd ya enjoy that? I had fun writing it :D. You're going to have to ignore the errors for now. I'm getting a beta, so no worries :DD. I'll be trying to update once a week, so I can work on it throughout the week and have the next chapter up on Friday or Saturday (sometimes it might be Sunday...) This chapter was actually ready yesterday, but I didn't want to upload it right away because I was trying to get in contact with my-soon-to-be beta (I hope xD). **

**Anyways~ don't feel afraid to leave a favorite/follow/review. I reply to reviews via PM's btw. Well, not all of them. I reply to ones that gives ideas, suggestions, and stuff like that. I also reply to flames. I don't like flames, but at the same time they're kinda useful... I'M NOT ASKING FOR FLAMES! DON'T GIVE ME FLAMES! But I like how flames tell me what to fix, though it could be done in a nicer way...**

**BYE-BYE!~~**

**~firefox26**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Naruto sat on his bed, he could hear his brother rummaging through the kitchen downstairs. Team seven had been active for the past few weeks, and they had yet to take their first C-rank mission. The team was beginning to tire of all the D-rank missions they had completed. So, they had decided to take the day off-the first day off they had-and try to convince the Hokage to let them take a C-rank.

That would be later in the day, for they aren't scheduled to meet for another few hours. In the mean time, Naruto is trying once again to meet the beast that lives inside of him.

The blondes eyes are tightly shut, and his legs crossed. His arms rested in his lap. He is wearing a pair of simple grey sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. His mask and headband discarded somewhere off in the room. He wanted his eye to be visible when he tried to speak to the beast.

**~Naruto's Mindscape~  
**

Naruto wandered though a system of sewers, his red eye glowing. The eye seemed to draw a path to the Kyuubi, and every time he went into the system of sewers, he became closer than he was the last time.

Above him pipes of red, blue, and black twisting and turning, and knotting themselves together. The red and blue pipes seemed to glow slightly, while the black one seemed to suck up the light they were making. _'An eerie sight,'_ Naruto thought to himself.

The flickering chakra path went around a corner, Naruto followed it obediently. Past two turns. Go left. Right. Down. Forwards. The path continued, it seemed to be never-ending. Then, not very noticeably at first, the tunnel grew wider, and there were no longer any other paths to take other than the one that Naruto was following. The pipes above his head grew bigger as well, the red and blue pulsing more light.

The red trail flickered out of existence. Naruto looked glanced around, wondering where his guide went. In front of him stood an wall. He was in a dead end. Naruto took a few steps forwards, certain that this is the place the trail and pulled him to. With weary hands, the blond reached out to feel the wall, hoping to find a door of some sort. His hands went through the wall.

With a yelp of surprise, Naruto looked down at his hands. _'What was that?'_ He wondered. Once more, he reached out to feel the wall. His hands went through again. He tried kicking the wall. His foot went through. With a deep breath, Naruto walked forwards, so the tips of his toes and nose disappeared through the wall. _'Guess I have no choice.' _

He stepped through.

**~With Kakashi~**

Naruto's older brother had left the house about half an hour ago, planning to find a bookstore to find out when the Icha Icha Special Edition was coming out. He had not yet found this bookstore though.

He continued to wander through the streets of Konoha, his book open in front of him. Although his book was open, Kakashi wasn't focusing on the words. _'The team has improved a lot in the past few weeks, Sakura especially. She's turned from a fangirl to a deadly kunoichi, with good medical jutsu. One day she might be able to rival Tsunade. But that day isn't today. Sasuke, too, has improved. He's turned from a boy with an ambition to a man who can achieve a goal. He might be able to give up on trying to find Itachi. But that day isn't today either. Naruto... he's been getting closer and closer to the Kyuubi.' _Suddenly, Kakashi felt Naruto's chakra spike, a wrath with it that he had never felt before. Kakashi quickly stuffed his book in his pocket and jumped to the roves, ignoring the surprised exclaims below him.

_'That day might just be today.'_

**~Naruto's Mindscape~**

He stood in front of a cage, its bars looming above him and out of sight. Behind the bars, Naruto can hear growling.

Two eyes slowly opened, glowing a dark red. _'Just like my eye,' _Naruto thought, touching just below his left eye.

**"So you finally decided to find me," **A large body moved into view. The fox.

"I've been trying for quite some time, Kyuubi," Naruto replied, narrowing his eyes.

**"And I was giving you a**** path."**

"That was you?" Naruto questioned, slightly surprised. He hadn't been expecting the Kyuubi to want to meet him.

**"I just said so, didn't I?" **The Kyuubi replied, looking slightly annoyed.

"I guess you did."

**"So, child, what do you wish to discuss?" **The Kyuubi questioned.

"I could ask you the same thing," Naruto retaliated, eyes narrowed.

**"I guess you could. But that doesn't change the question. What brings you here?" **

Naruto paused. Thinking for a while. Finally he answered. "Well, I really just wanted to meet the one who changed my life in so many ways."

The Kyuubi also took his time in answering. **"Good answer, child. I'm not going to apologize, though. Our... situation changed my life in many ways as well. I've been captivated in a twelve year old. And he hasn't always been so mature."  
**

"I, too, can agree with that," Naruto replied, nodding. "But I am also not going to apologize. I didn't like it either."

**"Quite sophisticated for a twelve-year old, aren't we?"**

Naruto glared at the beast, annoyed. "We need a compromise. One that makes both you and me happy."

Kyuubi nodded. **"I know. I've been thinking about it. For twelve years."**

"And?" Naruto questioned.

**"As you probably have guessed, I don't want to live in a weak or idiotic container. So I was quite pleased when Kakashi decided to take you in. In addition to Kakashi's training, I will train you to use my own power. I may help you with a few other things as well, if I get to like you. In return, you will change your mindscape so I might have a bit more freedom. You will also let me out every once in a while, to see the world and maybe help you train a bit more. In a different form, of course."  
**

"Most of those I don't mind. Two things though. If I change my mindscape you'll have to teach me how, and you'll still be locked up. Two, if I let you out, how will I be able to restrain you, like I am supposed to do."

**"Your seal will still be on me. I won't be able to go more than fifty feet from you. Also, my chakra supply would be extremely limited. You can change this, of course. Just learn some fuinjutsu and modify that." **The Kyuubi directed his head toward the seal on the cage.

"Alr-"

**"Hey, kid, we'll have to talk later. Your big brother is here," **the Kyuubi suddenly said, interrupting.

"I'm not surprised," Naruto sighed. "Bye."

The two elapsed into an awkward silence, both waiting for the other to do something. Naruto stood there and just looked around a bit, and the Kyuubi stared at him. Finally the Kyuubi spoke.

**"So are you going to leave, or what?"**

"Uh, well, how do I leave?" Naruto questioned, blushing slightly.

The Kyuubi was silent for a second before bursting out laughing. **"Y-you just fo-force your m-ind o-o-out!" **The Kyuubi instructed, gasping for breath.

With an embarrassed glare, Naruto disappeared.

**~Real World~**

Kakashi rushed into his little brothers room, his heart pounding. Naruto remains completely still, even as his brother enters the room. Normally, Naruto would notice the people near him, but this time he remained unresponsive.

Naruto's body is covered in a slight red glow, reminding Kakashi of the dreaded night six years ago, the night Naruto's eye and life changed.

"Otouto," Kakashi called, reaching out to touch his brothers shoulder.

Just as his hand was about to make contact, Naruto's mismatched eyes snapped open and looked up at his brother. "Oh, hello, aniki," Naruto greeted with a small smile.

Ignoring Naruto's greeting, Kakashi cut right to the meat. "Did you get any closer? His chakra was surrounding you."

Naruto's smile dropped. "Yes, I did. I finally found him."

"And? What happened?" Kakashi questioned, motioning for Naruto to make space for him on the bed.

"He has... an agreement that he offered me. A way to make our... predicament... easier for both of us." Naruto replied.

The next hour was spent with the two brothers talking, and Naruto explaining his encounter with the Kyuubi and the terms that the beast had laid out. Sharing opinions on the terms, and thinking about ways to tweak it to their advantage.

"So you think I should agree?" Naruto questioned.

"Mixed feelings. We'll talk more about it later. But right now, I'm hungry from all this serious talk," Kakashi replied.

"Agreed."

The two got up and agreed to meet by the front door in a few minutes, giving Naruto time to clothe himself in his usual garb before they went out.

Naruto walked around his room, picking up his mask and headband which were lying on the floor, on top of last weeks laundry. He picked up the items, and then went to his closet to dress himself.

The blonde emerged from his room a few minutes later. His mask and headband in place, along with his normal garb consisting of a black wife beater, ANBU pants, and combat boots. Kakashi was already at the door waiting for him, wearing his own normal attire.

The brothers walked through the streets, heading towards Ichiraku's. The ramen place has become the brothers annual spot, going there at least three times a week.

"To think, otouto, that we've been together for six years, so much has changed," Kakashi drawled lazily.

"Hai, I agree. I probably wouldn't be in the same place right now if you hadn't decided to take me in," Naruto agreed, nodding.

The brothers continued to walk in silence, thinking about different things.

_'He's actually right,' _Naruto thought. _'So much has changed. Changed for the better. If he hadn't taken me in, I wouldn't know as much jutsu, nor be able to really fight properly. The academy teachers don't always give the best advise. Especially to one like me.'_

Reaching their destination, the two stepped up to the small ramen bar.

"Usual, please!" Naruto shouted cheerfully, taking a seat and waving at the two behind the counter.

"On it, Naruto!" Cried Teuchi, with equal enthusiasm.

Ayame chuckled at the pair. "The usual, Kakashi-san?"

"Yes, please," Kakashi replied with one of his famous eye-smiles.

The two sat down on their side of the bar as they awaited their order, making small talk. The were mostly ignored as other customers went in and out, as the villagers had learned to not mess with Naruto when Kakashi is around him.

Just as their orders were placed in front of them, Sasuke walked in.

"Ha! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, pointing. "Couldn't keep yourself away for long, I see!"

Sasuke grumbled something uncomprehendable under his breath that translates roughly to 'Why do they have to be here right now?'

"Come, take a seat, Sasuke," Kakashi said, eye-smiling and pointing to the seat next to him.

"Hai," Sasuke replied, walking up to take the said seat. "Excuse me, miss. Could I have some ramen with miso beef?" The raven asked Ayame.

"Sure! Any kind for a friend of Naruto's and Kakashi-san's friend!"

"Teammate," Sasuke grumbled. "I wouldn't go as far as to call us friends."

Ayame just smiled at him before calling back at her father for the ramen.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke. "So, what brings you here?"

"Same thing as you," Sasuke replied, looking around the ramen bar. "Food."

Naruto laughed, with lightning quick speed, he pulled his mask down, took a bit of his food, and pulled his mask up again. It was to fast to see his face.

"Sensei," Sasuke began, turning to the man who was eating the same way Naruto did. "Have you gotten us a higher mission yet?"

"Nope, not yet," replied the man. "I'm going now though. Enjoy the bill, Naruto!" With that, Kakashi disappeared.

"Damn that man!" Naruto shouted, staring at the empty seat.

**~With Kakashi~**

The silver-haired jonin appeared in the Hokage's office, his book in hand. The Hokage jumped up, surprised by Kakashi's sudden entrance.

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi began, ignoring the look of surprise on his leaders face. "I was wondering if you could give my team a harder mission next time we come here.

"A harder mission? Is your team ready for it?"

"Yes, they are," Kakashi replied, putting his book away. "No more chores."

"I'll think on it. Dismissed."

Kakashi frowned at the amount of response he got from the old man, but left nonetheless.

**~With Naruto and Sasuke~**

"Do ya want to go train?" Naruto asked the raven, standing up and leaving the bar.

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"Let's go then."

The two headed for training ground seven, ignoring the adoring looks Sasuke got and the looks of hatred Naruto got. The streets slowly dwindled down to all but abandoned as they got closer to the grounds. When they reached their destination, both boys were surprised to find their pink haired teammate hacking away at one of the wooden pillers with two kunai.

"Afternoon, Sakura!" Naruto called to his other teammate.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" She exclaimed in surprise, pausing in her training. "What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you," Sasuke replied. "Training."

"Yeah, would you like to join us?" Naruto offered.

"Uh, sure!" Sakura said, surprised.

The trio trained and held mock fights for the next few hours, teaching each other and helping one another. They found that Sakura had already began to dig into medical jutsu and strategy planning.

Kakashi watched the three from a tree for a while. All of them had already noticed the ex-ANBU, but didn't feel the need to mention it.

Kakashi came down from his tree after Sakura gave Sasuke a hard kick to the stomach, calling for the training to stop.

"Kiddies, I have an announcement to make!" He called out as they walked towards him. "We're going to convince the Hokage to give us a C-rank tomorrow!"

The three genin nodded, happy that they would finally stop doing chores.

"But, Sensei," Sakura said after a second. "Why don't we just do that now?"

"Well, Sakura-chan, it's already 6'oclock. You guys have been at it for quite a few hours. Not to mention you came here quite early today, Sakura."

The girl blushed at the indirect complement.

"Meet here at nine tomorrow morning," Kakashi declared. "And don't be late."

**A/N SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT AND SORRY ITS SO LATE!**** I couldn't find my writers spirit this week, lame I know, so this chapter isn't the best. Also, I feel like this story has been pretty boring so far... BUT THAT'LL CHANGE NEXT TIME! WITH FIREFOX26, KYUUBI'S EYE WILL TAKE A SERIOUS TURN OF EVENTS. WILL NARUTO ACCEPT THE KYUUBI'S OFFER? FIND OUT NEXT TIME, WITH FIREFOX26! *tune outtro music*  
**

**By the way, have you guys listened to a band called Two Steps From Hell? They're awesome! **

**~firefox26 **


	5. WITHIN THE NEXT FOUR DAYS I SHALL!

**Effort without talent is a depressing situation... but talent without effort is a tragedy.-Mike Ditka  
**

**I'll have the next chapter out by the end of the weekend. **

**SORRY IT'S TAKEN SO LONG! Can't really write during the week...**

**SEE YOU SOON!**

**~firefox26**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

Naruto rolled out of his bed, completely disoriented. _'Ah, man. What time is it, I wonder...'_ He thought, stumbling out the door and downstairs to make himself breakfast. Reaching the kitchen, Naruto found Kakashi already awake with a plate of pancakes in front of him.

"Nii-san," grumbled Naruto as he took the seat next to the silver-haired jounin. "Might there be any more of those?"

"Mh, yeah," replied Kakashi, not looking up from his meal. "You'll be late in half an hour, by the way."

"**What?!**" Naruto yelled, nearly dropping the syrup in his hand. "Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"Less amusing that way." Kakashi sent his brother an eye smile.

Naruto cursed under his breath. With haste, he quickly ate the pancakes that Kakashi put in front of him and ran upstairs to get dressed.

Naruto came back down five minutes later wearing his normal clothes, and his weapons sealed into the scrolls that he stored in his pockets.

"So when'll I be seeing you?" Naruto questioned his brother as he opened the door.

"Not going to ruin the surprise," replied the ex-ANBU.

"Can it ever really be a surprise?" Naruto muttered to himself as he disappeared in flames.

**~At Training Ground 7~**

Sakura sat with her back to a tree, Sasuke hung in the branch above her.

"Just barely made it, dobe," commented Sasuke as he looked at the blond ninja in front of him.

"Ah, shut up Sasuke. Nii-_chan_ forgot to wake me up this morning."

Sakura chuckled at the two boys. "So when will Sensei be here anyway?"

"Meh, I have no idea," Naruto informed her with a shrug. "He'll come after his third cup of coffee."

"And what number was he on when you left?" The pinkette questioned.

"Probably number five."

Sasuke and Sakura sweat-dropped to Naruto's answer.

"I guess you didn't lie," grumbled Sasuke with a yawn.

The trio lazed around for another hour, waiting for their sensei to show up. They passed the time with books and the seemingly unlimited amount of food Naruto has in his sealing scrolls. After almost two and a half hours after Naruto showed up, Kakashi finally decided to show himself.

"Ohiyo!" The jounin greeted cheerfully. "Ready to go?"

The team, already knowing it to be fruitless to ask about his lateness, headed off to the Hokage tower.

Once they arrived, they headed in the direction of the mission room, prepared to have to fight for their C-rank. However, when they came to the mission room, they found the Hokage already prepared with a mission for them.

"This came in earlier today," the Hokage explained with a smile. "So I decided it will be a good one for you guys."

The team shared small smiles, happy that the Hokage had caved in without much fight.

"Iruka, bring in our client," ordered the old Sarutobi.

"Yes, sir."

Iruka walked out of the room, but returned a moment later. "Team seven, meet Tazuna. You'll be escorting him to the land of the waves. Tazuna, this is the team that will be protecting you on your journey. Don't misjudge them, they may look weak, but they're one of our strongest genin teams at the moment."

"Hey!" Scoffed Naruto, annoyed with the jab.

"Don't misjudge them, you say?" Questioned Tazuna, wavering slightly with a slight drunken air about him. "They seem pretty weak, especially the blonde."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted again, louder than last time. "I'll let you know that I happen to be the core of this team. And this mask ain't no fashion statement either... actually it kinda is. But it holds sentimental meaning!"

"Heh," Tazuna scoffed. "Yeah, right. I bet that sentimental value is probably just five yen out of your pocket. You don't understand the pain that my grandson has gone through. Now, he has some things of sentimental value, yes he does."

"Now, now, let's all get along, alright?" Kakashi said, disliking the look that had suddenly crossed his younger brothers face.

"But-" Naruto began.

"Naruto, that's enough." Kakashi's tone tolerated no argument.

"Hai," Naruto turned to leave the room.

"Meet at the West Gate in two hours. Be prepared for the worst," Kakashi called after him. "Don't be late."

"Says you," muttered Naruto darkly. Then he disappeared in flames.

Tazuna gaped at the spot where the blond had stood only seconds before.

"That goes for you too, Tazuna," Kakashi said, interrupting his line of thought. "Meet at the West Gate in two hours. You too, Sakura and Sasuke."

With that, the rest of team seven dispersed to their own houses.

Kakashi entered his house, prepared for the worst when he walked in. When Naruto was talking to Tazuna there was a dark look in his eye. He was remembering the times before Kakashi came into his life.

With cautious steps, Kakashi headed upstairs, his footfalls completely silent.

Naruto's room door is closed, no light coming from behind it. When Kakashi tested the knob, he found it to be locked. A simple jutsu fixed that problem.

"Naruto?" He called softly into the black abyss.

Receiving no answer, the silver haired jounin slowly ventured into the room, noticing a dark figure crouched over the edge of the bed, completely unmoving.

With cautious steps, Kakashi sat next to his younger brother and draped an arm around his shoulders. Naruto seemed to relax a bit in his brother's presence, but was still quite tense.

"Naruto," Kakashi began. "Tazuna didn't know what he was saying. He doesn't know you, or your... burdens."

"Nii-san," Naruto mumbled softly, so softly that Kakashi barely heard him.

"I'm here. I won't let them hurt you again," Kakashi murmured to the now trembling figure beneath his arm. Whether it is from rage, hate, anger, or sadness, Kakashi doesn't know.

"He... he didn't... he dared to tread there." Naruto's voice broke.

"He didn't know what he was saying. He-" Kakashi's voice failed him.

"What kinda pain could his grandson even have gone through, to be able to outmatch mine. His grandson probably doesn't know the pain of the sword, or of boiling water and hot metal."

"But you shouldn't wish such things upon him, either," Kakashi replied, disliking where Naruto was going.

"No never," Naruto was beginning to sound like himself again. "My goal is to be able to protect people. People I've never met, people who have done me harm, or even the people I see everyday. No one will suffer the way I did. I'll make sure of it."

**~At the West Gate~**

"Really, should I be surprised?"

"Hn."

"Are they always this late?"

Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna stood in a small triangle outside of West Gate, their things piled high in packs that they have strapped on their backs.

"Well, Kakashi is, not Naruto," replied Sakura. "Which, now that I think about it is kinda strange... seeing as they're brothers and all."

"They're brothers?!" Tazuna exclaimed.

"Yeah," Sasuke added, joining the conversation. "They are."

Just then, as if signaled, Naruto and Kakashi appeared just up the street, waving at the group of waiting people.

"Sorry we're late!" Naruto yelled, bounding up. "We lost track of time."

"Right," Sakura muttered, rolling her eyes.

"No, seriously!"

Kakashi interrupted the two before it became an all-out war. "Let's head out. Naruto, at point. Sakura, left. Sasuke, right. I'll be trailing behind a little. Be sure to always have our client surrounded on all angles."

"What about above?" Questioned Naruto.

"It's a C-rank," replied Kakashi. "We don't need to go full out. Yet."

Tazuna didn't miss the untrusting glare that Kakashi sent him.

The team headed out, quickly moving to their assigned spots. Sakura and Tazuna seemed to keep good conversation with one another for the first few hours, but after a while, the two had run out of things to say, and being the only ones talking, slowly dwindled silent.

The walk was peaceful, the birds chirping overhead, and sun blazing at their backs. The ground is dry, bits of dust being kicked up by their not-so-silent feet. Naruto, in the lead, has his hands behind his head, looking up the the sky with his eyes closed. Tazuna stayed farther behind him that normal, weary now that he knew that the boy was Kakashi's younger brother. Sakura and Sasuke trailed a little bit behind Tazuna, deep in their own thoughts. Kakashi stayed even further behind, always keeping a close eye on Tazuna and Naruto should anything happen.

So when they passed the puddle, no one really noticed.

Kakashi did, though.

And so did the people in the puddle.

With surprising speed for their size, two men jumped out of the puddle and wrapped Kakashi up in a chain. With a hard yank, Kakashi was torn into pieces.

As soon as they noticed the attackers, the genin of team 7 made a triangle formation around Tazuna. Sakura is holding a kunai between her hands, glaring hard at the two men. Sasuke stood to her right, his own kunai out. Naruto, standing to the right of Sasuke, wasn't holding anything, but his stance told them that he was ready for anything.

"First one down," chuckled one of the men.

"Three to go," added the second, with a grin.

The two men looked like brothers, their stature very similar. They were equipped with gauntlets, attached together by a thick metal chain. Both had long black hair and white wrappings on their arms. They both wore a long darkly colored cloak.

"Now kiddies, just step aside and hand us the old man," began one.

"We'll let you go unpunished," finished the other.

None of the genin replied, they kept their stance and weapons up.

"Heehee," chuckled the first.

"Guess we have no choice."

"It's kinda creepy how you guys finish each others sentences," Naruto stated, a sweatdrop on his forehead. Sakura and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

The brothers were the ones who didn't reply this time.

With a flash, the two men disappeared and reappeared behind the group, their chain spread around the front of them.

With lightning fast speed, Naruto jumped out of the way, bringing Sakura with him. On the other side of the brothers, Sasuke had the same idea and had jumped away with Tazuna.

"Sakura, you'll be protecting Tazuna-san, Sasuke and I will be fighting," Naruto informed the girl next to him before jumping away.

"Hai, Naruto," Sakura whispered softly and ran over to Tazuna, telling Sasuke to go help Naruto.

The two boys moved like water, as if they had been fighting together for all their lives.

Naruto traded fists with the brothers as Sasuke formed hand movements to prepare for a jutsu that Kakashi had taught him not very long ago.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "Are you sure?"

Sasuke didn't reply, but the look on his face said enough. Finishing the hand movements, Sasuke shouted, "Now, Naruto!"

Naruto threw his kunai at the chain that connected the brothers together. The kunai got caught on one of the links and stuck to a tree, making the brothers also stuck to the tree.

Then, once Naruto was out of the way, Sasuke did his jutsu.

"**Fire jutsu: Great Fire Dragon**!"

A beast emerged from the fire Sasuke had made, taking shape of a dragon. The dragon rammed into where the now terrified brothers were pinned. The dragon exploded in a great ball of fire, and blasted away anything near to it. Sakura had to take the weight of Tazuna who was about to be blown away, and Naruto was regretting not getting farther away.

Once the fire cooled down, it was noted that although the two attackers had passed out from the fire, they were still alive. Though the same couldn't be said for any of the possessions they once had with them.

Sasuke was lying on the ground, also passed out.

Kakashi was standing next to a pile of destroyed logs, very much alive.

"Sensei!" Cried Sakura when she saw the man. "How are you alive? I mean, I'm glad and all but-"

"Sakura," Kakashi interrupted, an amused expression on his face. "I used the substitution jutsu."

"Oh," Sakura replied, a small blush on her face.

"Naruto, good job," Kakashi said, turning to his little brother. "And same goes for Sasuke... but..." the silver haired jounin looked over to where the boy lay.

"Chakra exhaustion?" Guessed Naruto.

"You're probably correct."

Kakashi turned to Tazuna, who stood fearfully behind Sakura.

"Tazuna, you have some explaining to do."

"Uh, hai, Kakahsi-san," agreed Tazuna unhappily.

The group moved about the sight, picking up their passed out teammate and the two brothers. They traveled a bit farther, just to get away from the sight of destruction. About three miles away, Kakashi told the group to stop and settle down.

They had found a small clearing, with just enough space to pitch up three tents and have a place for a fire.

"Naruto, you can put Sasuke down around here," Kakashi said, gesturing to the clearing. "Then tie these two trouble-makers to a tree." He gestured to the two brothers that he had been pulling behind him.

Naruto did as asked, using the rope offered by Sakura to tie the brothers up. Kakashi then had Naruto go collect firewood while Sakura went for water.

While all this was happening, Tazuna strayed off to the side, looking worried and scared. He had been that way ever since the fight with the brothers.

About an hour later, when the camp site had been completely set up and Sasuke had woken, Kakashi called for everyone to come to the fire.

Tazuna walked over slowly, disliking the look on Kakashi's face. The three genin, however, seemed very excited to come and learn who they had fought.

"So," began Kakashi, "Care to tell us why the Demon Brothers of the Mist, two chunin level missing nin were after you, Tazuna-san?"

"Well, I wasn't entirely truthful about the mission," Tazuna replied with a small chuckle. "You see, the Wave Country is very poor, and we don't have much of an income, either. Gato, a shipping magnate and owner of the Gato Company isn't really all that he says he is.

"Gato is also an underground drug dealer and a smuggler. He's attempting to take control of the Wave Country. They only way we can stop him is to build a bridge to the main land."

"I get it," Sakura said. "If you connect the Wave Country to the main land, Gato won't be able to keep everyone, and his secret... well secret!"

"To put it simply, yes." Tazuna agreed, nodding. "And I, the master bridge builder, am building a bridge! But Gato is sending assassins, trying to get rid of me and my fellow builders. Every day, more people quit because of the risk of getting killed.

"So I was sent out to bring ninja to protect the village while we finish the bridge."

"We don't have to continue the mission, you know," Kakashi stated.

"I know. But if you quit the mission now, I will definitely be killed! Don't worry about it! If I die, my cute ten year old grandson will just cry for a few days! Oh yeah! And my daughter will live a sad life hating the Leaf Village ninja's forever! But it won't be your fault. Not at all!"

Kakashi sweat dropped.

"When you put it that way..."

"We'll continue," intervened Sakura, a serious look on her face. "Right, boys?"

"Hai!" Naruto said, Sasuke nodded.

"Well then, now that that matter is settled... What to do with the Demon Brothers?"

**A/N Tata! It's out! A week late! GOMENNNNN! ****Hope you liked it! REVIEWWWWWWWWWW AND FAVORITE AND FOLLOW PLEASE~ I really have nothing else to say...  
**

**~firefox26 **


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

Naruto stared up at the pouring rain silently. Everyone else had already retreated to their dry tents, not wanting to get wet.

Only an hour or two before, the team had finally gotten the actual details on their mission. Their client, Tazuna, had lied to them about the mission details, not telling them about the missing nin after his head, or the fact that the fate of the Wave Country rests on his old shoulders. The team had also managed to get two captives-the Demon Brothers, two missing nin from the Mist Country.

After Kakashi had done some interrogating on the brothers away from the campsite, he had come to the conclusion that he would send them back to Konoha. The silver-haired sensei told the team that an ANBU from Konoha would had taken the brothers to the village.

Naruto is lying on his back on the wet mud, far from the camp site where he should be. His hair and clothes long since soaked. Naruto had removed his mask when everyone had disappeared into their respective tents, enjoying the feel of the rain washing his face. It felt puring-cleansing even. The grime that had covered him during their hike towards the Wave felt heavy and dutiful, but here in the rain it wasn't there, didn't exist.

Naruto closed his eyes, ignoring the fact that thunder rolled in the distance. Surrounded by trees, he would never be hit.

**~The Next Morning~**

Naruto opened his eyes to a pink sky, the sun rising off in the east. The rain was still drizzling, but not hard, hardly noticeable. With a sigh, Naruto sat up and stretched, his bones cracking.

"Morning, world." Naruto stood, pulling his mask back into place. Walking into the tent he was supposed to share with Kakashi, Naruto changed out of his rain-soaked clothes for a dry set.

Kakashi was awake, lying in his sleeping bag. He didn't say anything when his brother walked in. His eyes never left the boy as he went about his business, the unspoken question clear in his eyes. _'Where were you last_ night?'

Kakashi knew he would never get his answer.

An hour later, the rest of the travelers were awake, dressed, and ready to go. Sakura, dressed in her normal attire, had a wakizashi attached to her hip.

"Sakura, where did that come from?" Kakashi questioned curiously.

"Oh, yeah, Ten-Ten, a student of Gai-san gave it to me. I met her a little while ago and she's been helping me with my training." Sakura replied with a grin. "It's been really helpful.

"That's good," Naruto said, joining the conversation. "To really improve, you would need some help outside of practices."

Kakashi nodded with agreement. "Yeah, but you haven't trained with Gai, right?"

"Oh hell no!" Sakura cried, jumping back a bit. "I don't want anything to do with that guy!"

Naruto chuckled, amused at her response.

After a few more words between the team, everyone set out, in the same formation as before. Still, Naruto refused to exchange many words with Tazuna, angry with the comment he had made a few days ago.

The trip was relatively quiet, no one saying anything. The path they walked on was in the middle of nowhere, birds flying about and the sound of creatures in the woods around them filled the silence. Kakashi walked with his nose buried in his book, like always. Naruto had his own book away as he admired the scenery around them. Sakura, surprisingly enough, had her nose buried in a book on genjutsu. Sasuke had a kunai on his finger, continuously spinning it around his finger. Tazuna was quite tense, not able to relax. Naruto assumed it was because he was surrounded by ninja who didn't know if they could trust the old man or not.

A few hours later, completely in their own world, the team was startled back to life when Sakura suddenly threw a kunai at the ground a few meters away from them.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried out, surprised. "What was that for?"

A small white bunny hopped out, its eyes wide with fear.

"S-Sorry," the pinkette stammered. "It startled me."

"We're surrounded by bunnies, what was so special about that one?"

As the two bickered, something clicked in Naruto's head.

"Guys, shut up for a second." Both genin turned their eyes to their blond teammate. "Bunnies aren't white at this time of year. He must have been bread in captivity, perfect for sub-"

"Get down!" Kakashi yelled, his voice cutting Naruto off.

The team wasted not a second, dropping down and pulling their client with them. A large sword nearly six feet long few above their heads and lodged into a tree behind them.

"Ah," a voice said, a man appearing on the sword. "Copy-cat Kakashi and his team of runts."

The genin growled, not appreciating being called runts.

"Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi greeted, equally as cold.

"Hand over the old man, and you can live," Zabuza offered, a grin on his face.

"As if," Naruto cut in, his voice angry. "Didja really think that something as stupid as that would work on us?"

"Oh? Who's runt number one here?"

"I'm not stupid. You're not getting my name," Naruto snarled.

Zabuza raised an eyebrow and disappeared, taking his sword with him.

"Kakashi, I don't know if I'll let that one live. Why don't you come out and we can talk it out on the battle field?" Zabuza hissed, mist filling the air.

Kakashi's eyes flashed over to his team, his eyes stopping on Naruto. "You guys know what to do." And Kakashi disappeared.

The sound of fighting reached the genin's ears, and the occasional splash informed them that the jounin were fighting on water. Suddenly, Zabuza appeared in front of Sakura.

"Ripe for the picking," he hissed as he lifted his sword over his head.

"Oh no you don't," spat Sakura as she stabbed him in the stomach. Zabuza exploded into a puddle of water, Sakura's short sword wet.

"Dammit," she growled. "A clone. Guys," Sakura addressed her teammates, not turning around. "Watch out. They're clones, but the wounds they can inflict are real enough."

The team lifted their weapons higher, completely prepared.

**~With Kakashi~**

Kakashi brought his kunai up, protecting his face from the blow Zabuza delt.

"Kalashi," Zabuza chuckled, disappearing into the mist that surrounded them. "Your eye is useless here. The mist is laced with chakra, it'd be like trying to look through stained glass."

Kakash didn't reply.

"To cool for words, copier?" Zabuza teased lightly.

Kakashi growled, but once again didn't reply.

Zabuza raced towards his prey, his sword stretched to his side. "Well then, let us speak with our weapons."

No more words were exchanged, only the satisfying clash of metal upon metal kept Kakashi aware of his surroundings and not lost in the thick fog.

Zabuza came towards Kakashi again, but was met with surprise when his sword his thin air.

"Found you," whispered Kakashi before he slammed his opponent down into the water.

"Too late," Zabuza hissed as he hit the water and exploded into more water.

**~With Naruto~**

Naruto slammed his kunai into another clone's stomach, grunting with the effort. On the other side of Tazuna, Sasuke dealt with a clone of his own, soaking himself as the clone exploded with water.

The trio had formed a triangular formation around Tazuna, making sure that none of the water clones could get close to their client. As much as Naruto hated the man, he knew that it was better for him to protect the man than to leave him unprotected like a pig in a slaughterhouse. Tazuna himself was white with fear, his eyes wide and his hands shaking. He looked like he would be the happiest man alive if he could just run.

But running wasn't something the genin were prepared to do.

They dealt with the water clones as Kakashi dealt with the original, and Naruto knew, as a solid clone user himself, that Zabuza was probably starting to run out of chakra from making so many clones. _'Unless he had made them before the actual fight...' _Naruto didn't want to continue that line of thought.

Suddenly Sakura collapsed, holding her stomach. Above her stood another clone, blood on his kunai. The Zabuza had a clear smirk hidden under his wraps. Sasuke also looked down to see his teammate fall, surprise written all over his face.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled.

"I'm alright," Sakura muttered darkly, pain clearly written all over her face.

"You're clearly not 'all right'," Sasuke stated, reaching over to help his teammate.

Sakura looked at Sasuke in surprise. The stoic boy was helping her? An annoying old fangirl?

Blood seeped through Sakura's fingers as Naruto quickly disposed of the clone by Sakura. "Sasuke," Naruto called, "Get her somewhere safe. I'll guard Tazuna."

Sasuke looked over to his blond teammate. After a second, Sasuke nodded and shunshuned away, leaving Naruto alone to defend Tazuna.

"A-Are you sure that was a smart idea?" Tazuna stuttered, looking at the spot where two of his three body guards had just stood.

"It's fine," Naruto muttered. "I've got clones of my own." Naruto crossed his fingers to form an 'x'. "Shadow clone jutsu!"

Eight Naruto's popped to life, and immediately took positions around Tazuna. "Be prepared." The original whispered just before another clone appeared in front of them.

**~With Kakashi~**

Kakashi stood on the water, panting from over-exertion. He was covered in blood, his own and Zabuzas both.

"Done yet, cat?" Zabuza harshly whispered, looking just as bad as Kakashi. His white wraps around his face had long been discarded and his headband had fallen off sometime during the fight.

"Not yet, demon," Kakashi replied, just as quiet.

The two launched back into action, finally starting to use jutsu.

"Water release: Water Dragon Bullet!" The two voices called out in harmony.

Two great dragons formed out of the water and launched at each other. As the dragons collided, they created a great wave, launching out to all sides. The wave caught the two ninja unexpectedly and pulled them under water.

**A/N ANDDDD CUT!**

**Sorry, I was late again... I'm going to change my mind. I'm no longer updating once every week. It'll be once every two weeks, maybe more if I'm feeling very good on a random date. **

**Talk to ya later peps :D**

**WAIT! Sorry, I can't always reply to the reviews anymore... SHITTY SCHOOL. But don't let that discourage you. Please review :D**

**~firefox26 over and out. **


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